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ACCIONA net profit totals €61 million in first quarter 2018 (+2.9%)

ACCIONA reported net income of €61 million in the first quarter of 2018 (+2.9%), a period in which both the Infrastructure and Energy businesses performed strongly.

EBITDA reached €320 million (+6.4%), mainly as a result of the 15% increase in the production of renewable energy and the good evolution of the margins of the Infrastructure business. The Construction division is undertaking the simultaneous execution of several large-scale international projects such as the Site C dam (Canada), the Follo Line railway tunnels (Norway), the Quito metro (Ecuador) or the Dubai metro for Expo 2020 (UAE).

Group revenues grew to €1.68 billion (+2.8%), mainly due to the 12% increase in Energy revenues and growth in Construction (+1.7%) and Industrial (+42.2%) divisions.

At 31 March 2018, net financial debt was €5.37 billion compared to €5.49 billion (-2.2%) at the end of March 2017. This figure does not yet reflect the effect of the announced sales of five solar thermal plants in Spain or of Trasmediterránea. Financial expenses fell sharply (-23.9%) as a result of changes in the company's financing structure.

Gross and net investment during the period was €102 million, compared to €272 million invested in the first quarter of 2017, which included the acquisition of Geotech in Australia (€139 million). Energy concentrated the largest investment effort of the quarter (€87 million), mainly associated with the construction of new wind capacity in Mexico, Australia, Chile and photovoltaic plants in Mexico and Egypt.

By business area

The Energy division generated revenues of €519 million (+12%) and EBITDA of €220 million (+5.7%). Generation EBITDA in Spain grew by 10.7% thanks to higher production (+14%) and despite a slight decrease in the wholesale price level (€48.1MWh compared to €55.6MWh a year earlier) and the effect of the regulatory banding mechanism (-€7 million). International Generation EBITDA increased by 3.2% due to higher production (+16.5%), higher prices and new capacity in operation, which offset the negative impact of exchange rates.

In the last twelve months, consolidated installed capacity has increased by 235MW, due to the increase in international capacity. Abroad, 168MW of wind power were added in Mexico, 27MW in India, 51MW in Australia and 38MW in Canada. Consolidated production for the quarter amounted to 5,301GWh (+15%). Total consolidated installed capacity at the end of the first quarter stood at 7,632 MW (+2%).

The Infrastructure division (which includes Construction, Industrial, Concessions, Water and Services) closed the period with a turnover of €1.06 billion, practically the same as a year ago. Of note were Construction, which increased its sales by 1.7% to €659 million, and Industrial, which posted sales of €65 million (+42.2%).

The division's EBITDA was €90 million (+4.1%), with a margin of 8.4%, driven by Construction, which reached an EBITDA of €41 million (+15.6%) thanks to the execution of large international projects that offset the decline in the domestic market. At the end of the quarter, the Construction backlog amounted to €5.93 billion (-6%), due to the high pace of construction work. Of the total portfolio, 79% is international.

Within the Other Activities group, Bestinver's growth stands out, with a turnover of €25 million (+15.7%). Bestinver also improved its EBITDA, which rose to €17 million (+5.2%), mainly as a result of higher average assets under management than in the same period of the previous year. The company has €6,071 million in funds under management.

Trasmediterránea also performed well, improving its revenues (+4.8%) and operating profit, with increases in the volume of passengers, vehicles and linear metres of freight.